Protecting the Protector
by usa123
Summary: Wyatt shows up to Mason Industries injured but determined to go on the next mission. It's up to Lucy and Rufus to look after him in the past. Team bonding abounds.


**A/N: It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a show as much as I do _Timeless_. To make the hiatus more manageable, I offer you a Wyatt whump fic with lots of Protective Team feels. I hope I did the characters justice.**

 **(For those of you who follow me for my Avengers fics, the second chapter of _Under the Gun_ is almost ready. I hope to have it posted early next week. Sorry about the wait.)**

* * *

"Where the hell is Wyatt?" Agent Denise Christopher groused as she pulled the phone away from her ear and jammed her thumb into the red "end call" button.

"His phone probably died…or something," pilot Rufus Carlin suggested as he surreptitiously typed out a quick "Where are you?" text to Wyatt, his phone hidden in the pocket of his hoodie. As he did so, he caught Lucy's eye, silently asking if she'd had better luck. She shook her head imperceptibly, her hand disappearing into the pocket of her dress, probably to call Wyatt again.

"I don't suppose you have contingency if one of them is unable to go along?" Connor Mason asked, earning himself an unimpressed look from Christopher.

"I don't think I need to remind you how well the Sergeant Baumgardner situation went over," she replied coolly.

"That was different. We had three people physically capable of going. What if we don't hear back from Logan—"

"Wyatt has given us no reason not to trust him," Christopher interjected. "I'm sure he'll be here." It was hard to avoid the hollow ring to her words though. It wasn't like Wyatt to be this late, especially when Flynn had taken out the Mothership.

Suddenly there was a long beep from Jiya's desk. She hurried over and quickly scanned a notification. "Wyatt's badge was just swiped at the side entrance," she announced.

Christopher turned to the tech mogul, who raised his hands in silent surrender, before fixing her steely glance on Lucy and Rufus. "Well don't just stand there. Get changed."

"Yes, ma'am," they both said as they hurried out of the room. Rufus spared a second to shoot Jiya a quick smile over his shoulder and, as he turned back around, he crashed into Lucy, who had stopped in the middle of the narrow hallway.

"What's going—" was all Rufus got out of his mouth before he realized who was standing before them.

"Wyatt!" Lucy exclaimed, breaking into a full sprint toward her teammate who was clutching the railing at the end of the hall so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He was hunched over, his right arm wrapped around his ribs and, when he looked up at the sound of Lucy's voice, Lucy and Rufus saw the blood caked around his face.

Rufus was running too almost before he consciously realized it.

"What happened?" he demanded as soon as he reached Wyatt, swinging himself under the soldier's arm and propping him upright. Wyatt hissed as the quick movement jarred injuries unknown but managed to get out "Flynn."

On Wyatt's other side, Lucy decided it would be worse to untangle the arm around his ribs and instead rested her arm on his lower back, her right hand bracing his hip for additional support.

"Flynn did this to you?"

"Guess he…didn't want me…to go 'long," Wyatt grunted.

The three had only hobbled about halfway down the hall before they were met by Christopher, Mason and Jiya.

"Flynn," Lucy stated before any of them could ask.

"Let's get him to medical," Christopher ordered, pulling her phone from her pocket and walking briskly toward the far wing.

"What 're…you guys doin'…here?" Wyatt slurred as they stumbled along.

"We'll worry about that later," Lucy replied, shifting her weight closer as Wyatt lurched forward unsteadily. "Let's take care of you for the moment."

To her horror, Wyatt didn't respond but, when she looked over, she saw he was still conscious—and doggedly trying to remain that way, judging by the tense set to his features.

Once in the medbay, it took both time travelers plus Mason to situate Wyatt on a cold metal table. Lucy then slipped a roll of paper towels under his head, the best they could do in those circumstances. By that time, Wyatt was barely with them, his face an ashen gray, beads of sweat dripping down his face. Even though he was lying flat on the table, his right hand never left the inner folds of his left jacket pocket.

Since there were no chairs in the examination room, Lucy and Rufus just pulled up an adjacent table, clicked on the brakes, and sat on it instead. Connor Mason chose to wait at the door.

A few minutes later, they all heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up, hoping to see Dr. Bright. To their disappointment, it was only Agent Christopher who nodded at all of them, then walked over to Wyatt.

"Can you tell us what happened?" she asked without preamble.

Both Rufus and Lucy shot her incredulous looks. "Do you really think this is the time for that?" the pilot hissed, his voice a whisper so Wyatt wouldn't hear.

"He might not remember it later," Christopher replied, in a tone that left no room for argument.

Then she turned to Wyatt and, in a much gentler voice, said, "I'm sorry if this is difficult, Wyatt, but we need to know."

"They were 'n…my apartment," the soldier began, not even opening his eyes. "Three of 'em. Tazed me…as I walked in." He shifted in the bed and immediately hissed. "Went for…m' gun…but 'ey kicked it…stomped on m' wrist, kicked me…in the head…" He paused, his entire face contorting in a wince. "…I think."

Out of the corner of his eye, Rufus saw Lucy practically vibrating with rage, her lips a thin line as she fought to keep her outburst in.

"Came to, alone. Phone w's gone. Figured I'd be safe…here."

"How exactly did you get here?" Christopher questioned.

"Uber," Wyatt's face slid into a half-smile before his body seemed to remember it was hurt and swapped out the expression for a grimace. "Was circling…Guy made…one helluva tip."

"And you're sure they were Flynn's men."

Wyatt nodded exactly once before his face tensed with pain. He took a few shallow inhales through his nose and swallowed hard before he added, "Seen 'em before."

"Thank you Master Sergeant," she said with a crisp nod before pulling out her phone and exiting the room.

With great effort, Wyatt rolled his head to the left and cracked open one eye to stare at Lucy and Rufus. "So what're…you both…doin' here?"

"I told you it wasn't important," Lucy said, reaching out and resting her hand on his.

Wyatt stared at her for a long moment before his gaze sharpened briefly. "Flynn took out…the Mothership."

"Let's just get you checked—What the hell are you doing?" Rufus exclaimed as Wyatt began levering himself into a sitting position.

"We hafta go," Wyatt said, motioning with his left hand at the Lifeboat which could be seen through the window of the exam room.

"The hell we do! You can barely walk!"

"Flynn's gettin' 'way!" Wyatt wheezed back in retaliation. He grabbed the edge of the table with his left hand and used it as a pivot point to swing his legs over the side.

Lucy sprang up from her seat and stood firmly in front of Wyatt, keeping him from standing completely upright. "You're getting checked out first," she stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest and digging in her heels.

Wyatt scowled at her and shifted off the table at an angle in an attempt to avoid her. "Lucy, we don't have time—" He was betrayed by his legs buckling and he threw his weight back toward the table to keep from tumbling to the ground.

Rufus was on his feet by this time, grabbing Wyatt by the back of his jacket and hauling him back onto the table. "I don't think you heard Lucy," he said, readjusting his grip on the jacket but not completely letting go. "You're getting checked out."

"It's not like we can send you back in this condition anyway," Mason piped up from the door, his first foray into this conversation.

"'s 'xactly what Flynn wants!" Wyatt protested as he shifted to try to free his jacket from Rufus' hold.

"Would you stop worrying about Flynn!" Lucy shouted, her entire body expanding with the force of her exclamation.

All three men turned to look at her, their eyes wide. She held her ground for another moment before she deflated slightly and said, in a much quieter voice, "He could have killed you, Wyatt. I think that's more important at the moment."

Before any of them had the chance to reply, Dr. Bright walked in, greeted them politely, then kicked Lucy, Rufus and Mason out of the room while she examined her patient.

She walked into the hallway sixteen minutes later with a thick file in hand.

"How is he?" Lucy asked, springing to her feet.

"A laundry list of bruises and lacerations; busted lip; sprained, possibly cracked, wrist; cracked ribs; but he doesn't seem to have any internal injuries and nothing that needs a more serious look, besides his wrist after the swelling has gone down."

"Can he go on the mission?" Mason immediately asked.

"Of course not!" Lucy interjected at the same time Rufus turned to Mason, raised his hands in the air and replied, "Hell no! Besides, you were the one who didn't want to send him not fifteen minutes ago!"

"We're running out of options," Connor shot back, looking up from his phone to meet Rufus' incensed gaze. "The longer Flynn is on his own, the more damage he could be doing. And I can't send you and Rufus by yourselves—"

"Can't we get…what was his name…Baumgardner? _Temporarily_ , of course," Lucy interjected, her voice razor-sharp.

"It's too late to read anyone else in. Either Wyatt goes with you, or you don't go at all."

"You can't make him go, Connor," Rufus said, shaking his head back and forth to further emphasize his point. "Lucy and I will be fine…well, maybe not _fine_ , but we'll manage. It's urban 1929 which means no survivalist crap and Wyatt's been working with us on our—"

"I can't risk that. You need a third party: one who is properly trained and ready to do what needs to be done." Mason turned back to Dr. Bright who had been fiddling with her phone, actively trying to avoid the whole conversation. "Doctor?"

She tapped the screen a few more times, sighed deeply, then looked up. "There isn't a specific reason why he can't—" Before Lucy and Rufus could protest, she held up her hand and continued, "But I'd advise against it. Time travel is hard enough on a healthy body. It will be exponentially more difficult for him in his current condition."

"Let me…worry…'bout that," Wyatt declared breathlessly as he limped through the open door. Dr. Bright had cleaned and bandaged his visible injuries, including putting his right wrist in a thin wrapping that didn't at all resemble a modern cast, but he still looked like he could barely stand. In fact, he glanced at the wall longingly but, when he saw Mason's sharp evaluating look, he straightened up as much as he could and schooled a neutral expression on his face.

Lucy walked over to him and, standing on her toes slightly so they were closer to the same height, looked him straight in the eye. "You can't do this."

"'s not up to you."

"You shouldn't be doing this."

"None of us should," Wyatt returned, his expression deadly serious. "But we have to anyway."

Connor Mason slid his phone into his inner jacket pocket. "Excellent. Let's plan on leaving in fifteen then, if that's alright." He hardly waited for an answer before leaving the room.

"You're sure he's clear to go?" Rufus paused to ask Dr. Bright.

"Even if I said no, I'm pretty sure he's going to anyway."

Wyatt just nodded, then set his jaw and began limping down the hallway toward the wardrobe dock at an achingly slow pace. "C'mon Rufus," he called over his shoulder. "'m pro'ly gonna...need some help."

Lucy was headed in that direction as well when she heard Dr. Bright call her name. She turned to find the woman holding out a small vial of pills.

"They're painkillers," she explained. "Should be strong enough to get him through the next few days without taking off his edge."

"Why didn't you give them to him?"

"I tried. He refused. Insisted it would take off his edge."

Lucy took a step back, hands up and out of reach. "Dr. Bright, if he doesn't want them, I'm not going to force him to take them."

The physician looked offended. "Of course not. But I want you to have them close by in case he changes his mind. Especially right after you land, from what I hear."

"Oh." Lucy paused to lick her lips before amending, "Then, I apologize."

Dr. Bright waved her other hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it." She held out the bottle again and, this time, Lucy took it.

"Be careful—all of you!" the doctor implored as the historian followed her team downstairs.

* * *

Fourteen minutes later, Wyatt, dressed in period-appropriate clothing, was struggling to climb into the Lifeboat. Eventually, he just braced his bruised back against the circular door jamb and lifted one leg at a time over the thick metal wall. Sweating once again, he collapsed into his seat, legs akimbo while Lucy attempted the same maneuver in her dress. When she was finally in, Rufus who had no such mobility issues, easily passed both of them and settled into the driver's seat, immediately beginning to flip switches.

"You sure about this?" Lucy asked.

Wyatt, his eyes closed and jaw working, just nodded. Then after a moment, he straightened up and began to slowly scoot closer to the backrest. When he was sitting flush, he reached over with his left hand to move the rightmost belt in front of his shoulder. After that battle had been won, he attempted the same thing with his other side but couldn't reach far enough with his right hand to grab the left belt.

Seeing Rufus was close to the end of the launch sequence, Lucy leaned forward and gently pulled the belts of the harness out from behind Wyatt, clicking the metal tongues into the buckle.

"Thanks," he muttered, tilting back his head against the plush rest and closing his eyes again.

"Dr. Bright gave me your painkillers," Lucy began as she secured her own harness.

"No. They—"

"—take off your edge. I heard," she finished with a soft smile that neither of her teammates saw. "Do you need anything else?"

"How about a bucket?"

It took her a split second to realize he was serious. By that time, Rufus had already radioed back to the main desk for one and Jason, the intern, was en route with a newly emptied trash can.

He handed it to Wyatt who hugged it to his chest with his left arm as the door to the Lifeboat slid closed and the time machine began to rattle.

"I'm sorry in advance," Wyatt said weakly as his face turned a stark shade of green.

Lucy just reached out and laid her hand over his. "Don't be."

* * *

Two days later, the main desk began chirping and its occupants raced to put paperweights on freestanding piles of documents. Not two seconds after Jason had secured the latest test results, the Lifeboat blipped back into existence.

The team waited with baited breath as the door slid open, knowing Wyatt was usually the first one out. This time though, it was Lucy who poked her head out of the door, calling, "We need Dr. Bright," before disappearing back into the machine.

The doctor, who had been paid overtime to be around when the Lifeboat returned, grabbed her bag from a nearby table and hurried onto the time machine to find her patient in even worse condition than when he'd left. Bruises covered what was previously unblemished skin, a black eye was forming, and he had a bloody rag wrapped around his side.

"Would it have killed you to not get into a fight?" she muttered as she began unbuckling him.

To her surprise, Wyatt let out a loud laugh. "I didn't even start the fight, Candice," he slurred, "but Lucy and Rufus finished it! You should have seen 'em!"

Dr. Bright squinted at Wyatt's eyes, noticing for the first time his excessively constricted pupils.

"Is he... _high_?" she questioned, turning back to Lucy.

"Well…" Lucy said in a drawling way that reminded Candice greatly of Elizabeth Montgomery's classic delivery of that same word.

"But it isn't his fault," Rufus quickly intervened.

"That's right," Lucy recovered just as fast. "An overeager nurse dosed him before we could get back to him."

Candice sighed deeply. "What did she give him?"

"Morphine."

"He's going to love that." Candice put her hand on Wyatt's bruised face but he shook her off.

"Lookit Lucy and R'fus," he mumbled, bobbing his head back and forth so she couldn't get a good read on him. "They pulled 'em off 'f me…Need it first."

Candice briefly considered trying to argue with him but decided that it would just be faster if she humored him. "Okay Wyatt," she conceded with a deep sigh.

The physician turned to Lucy, who immediately pointed to the laceration on her forehead and said, "it's just a scrape."

"We'll clean it out when we get off of this thing," Candice said loudly, turning her head slightly so she was talking almost directly to Wyatt.

"And you Rufus?"

"Bumps and bruises. Nothing serious."

"Great. Your team is fine. Now can I examine you?" she asked Wyatt.

The soldier nodded, his frantic motions slowing to a stop. He was still for about five seconds before his face paled and he scrambled for the trash can.

"You guys go get changed," Candice told Lucy and Rufus around Wyatt's pained heaves as she knelt down in front of him and began rubbing his back. "You can meet me back in the medbay for a full examination."

But they continued to stand there, looking at their teammate with greatly concerned expressions. "Go on," Dr. Bright encouraged. "I'll look after him."

Lucy and Rufus stood there for another long moment, slightly bent over due to the time machine's size, before nodding and following her orders.

"We'll be around if you need us, Wyatt," Lucy called as she maneuvered out of the Lifeboat. "Give a call and we'll find you."

His only answer was an anguished groan.

* * *

Two hours later, Dr. Bright was finishing bandaging Lucy's forehead and wrists, having already taken care of Rufus and Wyatt. The latter was resting on the metal table, possibly even sleeping, judging by his deep unfettered breaths, while the former was sitting in the corner talking with Jiya, though his glance shot over to Wyatt a few times a minute.

"Where is he going to go?" Lucy asked, realizing Wyatt couldn't go back to his unsecured apartment in his current condition.

"Agent Christopher has already arranged a safe house for him to stay at until he's healed," Candice said as she peeled off her gloves and stretched her hands above her head.

"By himself?"

The physician shrugged. "He usually does."

"How does he usually get home?" Lucy asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"If he can't drive, I call him a cab."

Lucy stared over Dr. Bright's shoulder at the sleeping Wyatt. "From now on, you call me."

"Or me," Rufus chimed in, crossing the room in three large steps.

Candice smiled warmly. "Okay then."

She walked over to the counter and made a few notes in Lucy's file. After she'd locked it in the filing cabinet, she turned back to Lucy and Rufus. "I take it from this show of solidarity that one of you will be staying with him at the safe house?"

Rufus and Lucy both nodded.

Candice's smile only widened. "I'm glad to hear it. Agent Christopher is sending transport which…" she paused to check her watch, "…should be here pretty soon. Do you want me to wake him for you?"

"'m'up," Wyatt mumbled, surprising all three of them.

"How are you feeling?" Candice immediately asked.

"Been better."

"Well at least you're honest."

At that, Wyatt cracked open one eye but before he could fire off a snappy retort, Candice continued, "Anyway, your team is here to take to the safe house and to stay with you for a few days until you're back on your feet."

Wyatt looked at both Lucy and Rufus with what appeared to be panic. "You don't have t'do that. 'll be fine on my own."

The other two time travelers exchanged glances and both shook their heads.

"One, no you won't," Lucy began, ticking off points on her fingers as she turned back to face Wyatt. "I don't have much of a metric for these things but it seems like you're hurt pretty bad. And two, you'd do the same for us."

By this time, Rufus had walked around to the other side of the table and held out his hands. "So just accept our help cos we're not going anywhere."

Wyatt's gaze bounced between the two of them, his expression almost _confused_ before it settled on acceptance. "Okay," he said, leveraging himself upright then taking Rufus' hand to pull himself to his feet. Lucy immediately took her place on his other side and the three teammates began the slow walk out of the building and into the waiting transport.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you thought!**


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